The overall goal of the new Johns Hopkins-Pakistan International Collaborative Trauma and Injury Research Training Program (JHU-Pak ICTIRT) is to strengthen research capacity on acute care of trauma and injuries in Pakistan through an innovative model of sustainable capacity development. Our approach will be based on a tri-partite arrangement of institutions in USA and Pakistan - Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Aga Khan University (AKU), and Khyber Medical University (KMU) - with great commitment to trauma and injury research, experience and expertise in research, and history of collaborative work. Our model will focus on using US expertise to strengthen Pakistani institutions, promote a sustainable research enterprise focused on acute care of trauma and injuries, and enable national dissemination of research evidence to influence policy and investments in Pakistan and its future.
The specific aims of JHU-Pak ICTIRT are: Specific Aim 1 : To develop a core group of researchers focused on acute care of trauma and injuries at Khyber Medical University (KMU) in North-West Pakistan. This will allow for the development of trauma and injury research expertise at a public sector institution in one of the most impoverished and injury prone regions of Pakistan. Specific Aim 2 : To promote research around key national priorities for acute care of trauma and injuries in Pakistan. Generation of a relevant national acute care research will be a key feature of the training program and will also be used to inform national decisions. Specific Aim 3 : To establish a national policy forum on acute care of injury and trauma in Pakistan (ACT-PAK). Key to strengthening acute care research in Pakistan is developing the capacity to influence policy and translate evidence into actions. Specific Aim 4 : To create an Eastern Mediterranean Regional Center of Excellence in research on acute care of injury and trauma at Aga Khan University (AKU). Building on the expertise of AKU, this center will provide technical assistance to researchers in Pakistan and the Eastern Mediterranean Region and we will seek formal recognition by the World Health Organization. Building on the trauma and injury expertise developed at AKU under the first ICTRT award, we are proposing an innovative JHU-Pak ICTIRT program that transforms the acute trauma and injury research landscape in Pakistan. This transformative approach means that we will move from a North- South model of technical assistance to a national enablement model with a US catalyst;from a general injury research orientation to tackling acute care of trauma and injuries as a leading health care priority for Pakistan;and from a US-based training model to a Pakistan-led training model. We will use the expertise developed at AKU to strengthen research capacity in acute care of trauma and injuries in one of the most volatile regions of the world and develop a regional center of excellence for the Middle East and South Asia.

Public Health Relevance

The overall goal of the new Johns Hopkins-Pakistan International Collaborative Trauma and Injury Research Training Program (JHU-Pak ICTIRT) is to strengthen research capacity on acute care of trauma and injuries in Pakistan through an innovative model of sustainable capacity development. Our approach will be based on a tri-partite arrangement of institutions in USA and Pakistan - Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Aga Khan University (AKU), and Khyber Medical University (KMU) - with great commitment to trauma and injury research, experience and expertise in research, and history of collaborative work. Building on the trauma and injury expertise developed at AKU under the first ICTRT award, we are proposing an innovative JHU- Pak ICTIRT program that transforms the acute trauma and injury research landscape in Pakistan.